Alone
by Thoryne
Summary: Having been left behind by her brother and father in vault 101 Reaven sets out to discover the reason why. Finding, as she goes, just how hard it is to survive alone.


**Disclaimer: In no way do I own the rights to Fallout or any of the properties. These are Bethesda's.**

**AN**: This is simply a practice story so I can hone my writing skills a little. I have no beta either so until I find a good one there may be mistakes. If you want to make suggestions for the story feel free to review or send me a private message.

**Chapter one: Run away**

It was bright. In all of her nineteen years Reaven had never seen such an intense light as when she stumbled half naked though the wooden door outside of vault 101.

For a moment she was blinded, her focus returning far too slowly for her liking. When it did she found herself staring into a sickeningly large dusty landscape. It was bigger than anything she had ever imagined, with the bright orb she guessed was the sun just rising over the horizon of burnt and gutted buildings. The sight proved too much for her and Reaven found herself silently sobbing.

She wasn't sure why, now of all times, she would start. It seemed silly that she had massacred nearly everyone she had grown up with an not shed a tear but when presented with the sight of such a vast empty land her will broke. She managed a weak laugh before calming herself. It wouldn't do for her to escape certain death only to die of dehydration right outside the door.

First things first she needed to take inventory. A BB gun with fifty BBs, a 10mm pistol with no ammo, a baseball bat, a baseball cap, her pip-boy, Butch's tunnel snake jacket, and a set of ragged sleepwear caked in blood and radroach gore. She had left most everything behind knowing it would have slowed her down. Never once, when she was running, had she thought about what she would need outside.

Cursing her own shortsightedness she pulled up the map on her pip-boy. It was blank and she had to fight to keep herself from crying again. She needed to think. In class they had been taught the sun set in twelve hour patterns. Her clock read at the seventh hour so it was early morning on the surface. She had a handful of hours left until dark and with no water or food she would be in trouble soon.

There was a settlement nearby she recalled, Mega-something-or-other. The overseer had the coordinates on his computer which she hadn't thought of recording, just one more foolish thing against her. It was close though within a days walk of the vault according to the notes she had read. Somewhere to the right near Springvale which she guessed was the mostly intact town before her.

The idea of wandering out on her own into such a huge place made Reaven balk and she plopped down onto a stone burying her hands into her black hair, the short stands barely hitting her shoulders. She knew sitting there would count against her but she was frozen to her rock with a sudden sever case of Agoraphobia. She had no med-x, no stimpaks, no food, and no water. She didn't know exactly where the Mega-thingy was and wasn't entirely sure the town still existed since the overseer's information was several years old at least. She had run out of ammo for her pistol and she knew that the only way she could defend herself was to get a clean headshot with her bat.

It wasn't fair she lamented inwardly to herself as the tears started anew. Her father and brother had simply left. Not bothering to wake her up and take her with them. No. It had been poor Amata who had rushed to her side to alert her to the very real threat of death. All because they had ran away.

Was she not good enough for her father to have taken too? Why Snow? Sure her brother was bigger and stronger and he knew his way around a fight but she was the one who knew how to barter, how to sweet talk, how to pick locks, how to hack computers. She knew how to fix wounds and repair armor. She was a hell of a shot with a gun too. She lacked the physical strength that Snow possessed true. Barely reaching five feet in height and weighing just over ninety pounds she was usually out matched in any one on one action but she had worked hard on her aim to make up for that.

It didn't seem to have mattered to her father though. He had taken her brother and left her behind. Why? She didn't know but she sure intended to find out.

It took her a moment after her resolve to actually stand and head into the wasteland, her bat ready and her hat pulled low over her face to shield herself from the blazing sun.

It was slow going, the rocky and dry terrain nothing like the smooth metal of the vault. Her bare feet became cut and blistered by the scorching rocks and her legs reddened by the second. Luckily the jacket Butch had given her and the baseball cap blocked the rays from her shoulders and face but soon the heat had become almost too much and she was ready to shed them as well.

Almost collapsing in exhaustion Reaven stumbled into sight of a large metal wall built with what appeared to be scrap. Her heart leapt but she had to remind herself to be cautious. She had read about the unfriendly raiders on the overseer's computer as well and it was very possible she had arrived at a stronghold of their's instead of the semi friendly town of Mega-Something.

A robot stood at the sliding doors and when it didn't immediately fire upon her Reaven slowly approached it, hobbling slightly on her blistered heels.

"Welcome to Megaton please enjoy your stay," The mechanical voice greeted as she came closer earning a sigh of relief from Reaven. At least luck seemed to be on her side for now.

Moving closer to the entrance Reaven was startled when the doors opened seemingly on their own. Limping inside she was greeted by a middle aged man wearing a suit that reminded her of the cowboys in the old western movies she had watched in the vault. He sported a disapproving frown as he inspected her. She couldn't really blame him she probably looked a mess.

"The name is Simms," He said after a moment. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Her voice caught in her throat as panic seized her again. Reaven was good with people. Most all of the adults liked her save for the overseer. That was why Butch and the others had always picked on her calling her 'Nosebleed' or 'Suckup'. While she could persuade just about anyone in the vault she had never actually spoken to a stranger. She promised to herself to work on that.

"You need to speak up kid," Simms warned his hand reaching for his rifle. "Are you here to cause trouble? If so you can just march right back out of those doors. I'm the law around here. I won't put up with mischief."

Clenching her jaw Reaven managed to shake her head. In an instant she decided to play the distressed damsel, in all actuality she was quite scared. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I got lost out in the wasteland and stumbled here. I don't have any gear or food and I was just hoping maybe I could rest for a bit. I can help out to earn keep. Please, I don't know where else to go."

Simms eyed her again as if he didn't believe her before crossing his arms and sighing, "I suppose there is some work to be done. But mind telling me why a young kid like yourself is wondering around alone?"

"I'm looking for my dad, we…. got separated," It wasn't really a lie. "You haven't seen him have you? Older guy dark hair and a beard. Usually wears a lab coat. There is probably a boy with him bigger than me with whitish hair? We look a lot alike, the boy and me, we're fraternal twins."

"Sorry I haven't seen them," Simms jerked his thumb up the hill towards a pile of buildings built up the side of the crater the town sat in. "Try Moriarty's, most everyone who comes into town stops there. If anyone has seen them he'd know."

"Thanks, do you know where I can get some work? I'm afraid I don't have much in way of money."

"You could probably find something to do at Craterside supply or over at the water treatment plant." Simms nodded towards a ramp further down the hill. "Or if you have some experience with explosives then I might have something for you to do."

She hadn't really ever seen an explosive though she had read about them in her father's books. A vault wasn't the best place for them really since they were designed to protect from bombs and weren't very roomy inside. "I can't say that I would really be much help with explosives." She admitted timidly. "Though I know some things about them."

"Enough to deactivate an atomic bomb?"

"I don't think so," She knew she couldn't.

"Best to leave it alone then. Head over to Craterside. Moira probably has some better clothes. I can't have you getting attacked because you're wearing almost nothing. Just behave and don't cause any problems and you are welcomed here."

"Thanks," Reaven muttered and gave a small smile before she moved down the hill towards the ramp Simms had pointed out to her.

It was painful enough walking on hot rocks but the metal of the ramp was torture on her tender feet. Why couldn't they have prepared her a little more in the vault for this? Oh that's right, she was supposed to die in there like everyone else. Even her father thought so. Grunting to herself Reaven climbed on swearing that the moment she found her father and brother she was going to beat them. Right after she hugged them and cried a little.

Upon entering Craterside Reaven found herself uncomfortably close to a red haired woman who was really excited. "Oh aren't you just an adorable little Waste Lander." The woman cooed.

Unsure of how to answer Reaven stood very still hoping that perhaps the woman would back up a little. When she did not Reaven cleared her throat and stepped back herself, "I uh, came to see if the owner of the store has any clothes for sale or work I could do."

"Oh!" The woman squealed and broke into an even larger smile. "Of course I have clothes and I just so happen to be working on a really big project that a Waste Lander like you would be perfect for!"

"I don't have much to trade really…" Reaven lifted her BB gun and baseball bat. "I have these and can trade the sleepwear and jacket I have too for something a little thicker, and shoes if you have them."

The woman, Moira if Simms had been right, examined the bat and BB gun. She frowned after a moment then dug in a shallow box bringing up a vault suit and a pair of vault shoes. "I have these. The vault suit is modified and armored. They're pretty old I made them a few years ago for a girl who came out of vault one oh one but she never returned for it."

Reaven wanted to laugh as she caught sight of the suit. She just couldn't get away from the stupid vault could she. "They'll do it's better than what I'm wearing."

Moira nodded, "You can change upstairs. Just bring down your sleepwear and jacket when you finish. I can wash them, I guess, they should sell ok. Oh an here." She lifted a stimpak from a tin can on the counter. "Use this on your feet before you put on the shoes. You can do me a favor to pay for the extra. Like tell me about how life in the vault is." Reaven's look of surprise caused Moira to giggle. "Oh come on silly. You're too well fed and soft to have lived out in the wastes for long. I promise not to tell anyone, though I doubt I'm the only one who will realize it."

"N-No it's ok," Reaven waved the promise away. "I just thought maybe I could get away without telling anyone. But you're probably right. I'm too 'soft'."

"Don't get all pouty," Moira pinched Reaven's cheek surprising the vault girl into squeaking and jumping away eliciting another giggle from the merchant. "Go change and come right down."

No more than ten minutes later Reaven was seated at a table with Moira. The all too familiar feel of the vault suit and shoes making her much more comfortable than before.

"So what is it like in there?" Moira leaned closer propping her head on her hands, "Is it cramped? Dark? Does the air smell different down there?"

"It was darker yeah but there isn't many people left to be really cramped," An even less now that she had blasted her way to freedom Reaven added to herself. "It was also fresher in the vault. Though the air was a little more metallic smelling. I guess because of the metal filters it ran through. Size wise I guess its about three Megatons side by side and two more stacked on top if you could imagine that."

There was a sparkle to Moira's eyes that unnerved Reaven a little, "Wow it's even better than I thought. Oh what about food? Do you eat the processed and canned stuff or is it fresh? An what sort of currency do you use?"

"We never really used money. We were given a coupon book each week with ration coupons. We turned those in for food. We also had a garden though it wasn't very big. Just large enough for paste vegetables. They added those to the ration boxes to make them go further."

"Paste vegetables?"

Unable to help herself Reaven chuckled, "Yeah they're plants that are ground up into a paste and portioned in with the food that they made in the café." A thought hit her then, one which she hadn't even entertained. "You don't have vegetables out here do you?"

"We have Mutfruits, they're a strange plant that doesn't seem to mind the radiation."

"Oh, I guess I'm going to have to get use to new foods then." The sad thought of never having cake again weighed heavy on Reaven. "There wouldn't happen to be NukaColas out here would there?" It was Moira's turn to giggle now, "Of course there is though it has a bit more radiation than you're use to. An if you find one be sure to save the cap. That's what people use out here to buy things they can't trade for. If you find anything out in your scavenging be sure to bring it to me. I will give you top caps." She leaned back in the chair then and stood up. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"I guess," Having just met the woman Reaven was still a little weary. Even if she had given her a nice suit and shoes for just a bit of information and a few useless objects.

"I had a bit of an eye opening experience a few weeks ago and I have been trying to think of a way to help people avoid what happened to me." There was a pile of papers Moira retrieved from a tall shelf behind her counter. "I started writing a book but I don't have much experience in way of exploring so I need someone to test out my theories and report back to me with the results. I promise to reimburse if you'd help. I'm sure you will be out in the wastes again."

She hadn't exactly planned on venturing out again though Reaven supposed if she wished to find her father and brother she would indeed be wondering about a lot. And maybe by helping Moira she would discover how to survive long enough to find them. With a shrug she agreed.

The red haired merchant nearly tackled Reaven in delight, "Oh you're such a dear! We can start right now if you'd like!"

"If it's ok with you I think I'd like to eat first, I haven't had anything all day."

Moira smiled but shook her head, "Well maybe you should wait to eat. One of the first things I need for you to do is help me study the effects of Radiation poisoning. You'd probably lose anything you ate. So do this for me and let me fix you up then you can take your reward and trade it for food at Moriarty's."

"You want me to get radiation poisoning? On purpose?"

"It will be ok goofy. If you can get two hundred Rads it will be good but if you can get six hundred or more it will help out a lot."

"How should I go about this?" She wasn't even sure why she was agreeing to do this but Moira had a point about the reward. She'd starve if she didn't earn something to trade.

"Well the bomb is sitting in a pool of water, if you stand in that for awhile I'm sure you would get irradiated. Maybe if you drink some of the water it will happen faster."

Later that afternoon Reaven was lying face down on Moira's couch with a bucket tucked firmly by her head.

"Oh you look terrible!" There was a pause as Moira leaned in closer to examine the sick girl. "How do you feel? Be specific please."

"If I listen closely, I can hear my genes crying." Reaven mumbled into the bucket.

"You poor dear! Let me fix you up! Where is my Brahmin milk?"

The mention of milk made Reaven's stomach twitch and her head swim. Just as she finished retching and managed to look up her vision blurred and she slipped into unconsciousness.


End file.
